Acoustic apparatus.



W. B. FEATHERSTONE. ACOUSTIC APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1910.

l, 1 23, 1 85 Patented Dec. 29, 19 14.

LVVE/VTOR.

IVITNESSES:

55 given pomtsha an STATES PA 1;"

WILLARD B. rEA'rHnRsroNE, or wA'snmG'roN, nrsrnrcr or Q LUMBI assrenon.ro ARTHUR 0. BROWN, TRUSTEE, or KANSAS CITY, mssoum.

Acous'rrc APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. as, rare.

Application filed November 17, 1910. Serial No. 592,906.

To all whom lt may concern;

Be it lmown that I, WILLARDB. FEATH- nRsToNE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Washington, in the District of 5 Columbia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Acoustic Appara-.

tus, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates tothe distribution of sounds, particularly behind a screen on whichpictures are projected, and has for its object to make it appear to theaudience that the sounds are produced by objects 'at various places inthe scene. I accomplish these results by the improved apparatusdescribed In Figs. 1 and 2,'A is a screen to receive pictures projectedby the stereep'ticon or motion picture machine, G, Fig. 3.

B, B, Figs. 1 and 2, are sound-outlets,

. preferably horns attached directly to loudspeaking telephone receiversG, C. These sound-outlets are distributed over theback of the screen-inany desire arrangement, as instanced by the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6 and7, in Fig. 1, the arrangement being made with the object of having thesound appear-to come from the picture vof the object supposed to produceit.

H','H, Fig. 3, are pho'nographs or the like 40- whose reproducersR,-'communicate with, or

are combined with the transmitters, Q, of a telephone system whichincludes;the;,..l'oud-;.

speakingreceivers, C, 0. Anywellknown I means may be provided to-rimthe-phone graphs synchronously withitheemotions-pic tur'e projector. I

The interrupter J, 4, suitable part .of the telephone system fand.

has a plurality-ofpoints, I L,"adapted tp close the-circuits by icontactwith theice -;j I

' 7 .while the pictured curtain isdown andthe The operation ofinyapparatusas-fol lows: The interrupter J, isvpreparedby arranging-.: theipoints. :L,.,- L, .1; so; that; any remain in conta ctjwith the tiorrpicture-ot a comic opera. rupte'r. J and conductor K,.are in the POSI- 1,tionsr'shown 1n conductor K, only during intervals when it is desiredthat the audience shall hear sounds coming from the sound-outletcontrolled by that point. Thus upon revolution of the interrupter diskJ, or the conductor K, the raised. parts of the disk (shown in black inFig. 4) will be in contact with the conductor K only when directlybeneath it. At other times the circuit is temporarily broken orinterrupted, and at such other times consequently no sound will issuefrom the corresponding -sound-outlets behind the screen. The source ofthe sounds usually will be one or more phonographs or. the like, H, H,Fig. 3, and

tion-picture mechanism G, with an intervening differential W, Fig. 3, topreserve synchronism by varying the speed of the motion-picturemechanism, should the two devices get out of step. The sounds emanatingfrom the reproducers R, R, enter the telephone system through thetransmitters Q, Q, and'each transmitter may be connected to serve aselected few of the receivers C, C, as for instance thosesupplyingsoundoutlets 1, 2, 3, 4i, and 5, Fig. 1, or 16; 17, 18,

l9'and 20, as-it often is desirable to supply the latter group withorchestra music from a stock record, while the other groups may besupplied from special records. Thedisk J, Fig. 4, is shown divided intofour concentric groups, M, N, O and P, of 5 rings each the rings beingbroken points of contact adapted to connect with the respective parts,M, N O, and P of the conductor This. arrangement permits the soundsfrom. each phonograph. record. .to be' conveyed to a 'difl'erentgroupofsound outlets, to-be' further isolated .and distributedby the individualpoints L,.L. .Suppose now.

that there is being shown on the screen a mo- Fig, 4, andkthe conductorstarts revolving to the left. The first points to be in contact arethosein group M, supplying. outlets 16,17, 18, 19. and 20 with orchestramusic ifor say, nearly a minute,

orchestra, also? inl'picture, is seen playing uppn instruments whosesounds as above 'suppl'iedappeanto come from that part of the screen.Soon the curtain rises and the The intertributing sounds,

receivers are connected up with said transmitters at the prearrangedtimes, substantially as described. Y

8. An apparatus for reproducing and discomprising a plurality of soundrecords, a plurality of telephone circuits, each having a transmitteroperatively positioned with respect to a record, a plurality ofreceivers spaced apart to provide a series of distinguishable soundoutlets, means for connecting up any selected receiver with a selectedsound record, substantially as described.-

9. The combination with a talking machine having a sound record device;of variously located, enouncers; electrical transmitting means connectedwith the enouncers respectively; and an automatic switching deviceoperatively connected with the sound record device for the purpose ofdistributing various portions of the recorded sounds from thetransmitting means to the various enouncers respectively. 3

10. The combination with a sound record device containing a sound recordhavingsuc- 'cessively arranged individual characteristic parts; of meansto reproduce said parts from such sound record; separately disposedenouncers; means to transmit the reproduced sound record from saidrecord reproducing means to theenouncers; and means acting automaticallytodistribute the said individual characteristic arts of the recordsuccessively to predetermined enouncers.

11. A phonograph or talking machine having combined with itssound-reproducing diaphragm an electrical transmitter capable ofchanging the mechanical vibrations of the phonograph or talking Ihachinediaphragm into electrical impulses of like intensity and duration so asto re ducers, means and produce the vibrations of the phonagraph ortalking machine diaphragm on a receiver diaphragm reproducer operated bythe current in the circuit of the electrical transmitter, a plurality ofsuch diaphragm reproto two or more of said reproducers at a desireddistance from said talking machine or phonograph and means forintermittently operating singly either of the two or more reproducers aspredetermined for the purpose of changing the location or placement ofsaid sounds reproduced by said phonagraph or talking machine, to havesaid sounds seem to emanate from such characters or objects as aresupposed to be the original utterers of said sounds.

for transferring the current 12. In combination with a sound record andmeans for reproducing said a record, enouncers, electrical circuitsbetween the reproducing switching switching device having periods ofcontact of the length of such portions of the sound record as it isrequired to divide the said sound record into.

13. In combination with a sound record and means forreproducingsaidrecord, a switching device having periods of contact of the lengthof-such portions of the said sound record as it is required to dividesaid sound record lnto, means to operate sa1d switch device in registerwith the movement of said sound record, an electrical transmltter,electrical receivers, and circuits there- 'for; said circuits beingcontrolled by the switching device.

WILLARD B. FEATHERSTONE. Witnesses: v

F. L. STEFFEN, CARLTGN WILBY.

means and the enouncers, and a device for sa1d circults, sa1d

